


Dear

by Kanae



Category: Persona 3, Persona Series, Shin Megami Tensei Series
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-25
Updated: 2014-11-25
Packaged: 2018-02-27 00:42:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2672504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kanae/pseuds/Kanae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I… I was just thinking that it must be nice…”</p><p>“What?” Minato prods, gently.</p><p>“To be… loved.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dear

**Author's Note:**

> Beware of: talkative Minato and an overdose of MinAi fluff.

There is a couple sitting on one of the benches at Paulownia mall.

Aigis notices them first; their entwined fingers, her shy laughter and his boyish elation, the intimate yet tentative closeness of their bodies. The sight invades her like a Shadow, its sweetness leaving a sour aftertaste that she can’t quite identify.  

Sitting across from her, Minato does not notice them at all, too busy studying his latest acquisition at Power Records.

What he notices instead is Aigis's sudden silence; the strained quality it has to it, heavy and untrodden. Curious, Minato lifts his gaze only to find her staring down at the table, a hint of sadness to her eyes that was not there a moment ago.

Something cold spreads in his chest, seeps into the contentment like spilled ink, and he puts his album away.

“Is something the matter?”

Aigis jumps a little in her seat. When she notices Minato peeking at her expression through her bangs, her face heats up. “Not at all, Minato-san,” she shakes her head, hurrying to give him a reassuring smile.

He holds her gaze for a moment longer, feels a smile of his own prickle at his lips in spite of himself. “Heh, you’re a lousy liar, Aigis.”

She looks a mixture between flustered and ashamed. “No! I…”

The quirk of his lips falters alongside her voice, his brows furrowing with faint concern. Wordlessly, Minato leans forward and covers her hand with his own. _It’s okay if you don’t want to talk; but I’m here if you do_ , is what Aigis finds in the gesture, and suddenly she can’t quite meet his eyes anymore.

She focuses them on her knees instead. “I… I was just thinking that it must be nice…”

“What?” Minato prods, gently.

“To be… loved.”

Minato blinks, unable to hide his bewilderment. “You _are_ loved, Aigis.”

A faint smile flits onto her face and the gesture is both blithe and sad. “I am appreciated as a friend,” Aigis agrees, lifting her face only to give an odd stare out the window. “But I am not loved as a woman, for I am not one.”

Confused still, Minato follows the trail of Aigis’s gaze until it lands on the couple of teens. They are hugging now and the boy is starting to lean in, no doubt hoping for a kiss.

Understanding dawns on Minato and his eyes widen, his hand falling from Aigis’s own.

 _So this is what this was all about_ …

Aigis’s lets out a little gasp, eyes filling with turmoil. “I’m sorry, Minato-san, that must have sounded awfully selfish of me. Please, don’t misunderstand! I did not mean to say I am not grateful to be everyone’s friend, there is nothing more precious to me _than_ —!”

“You’re right, Aigis,” Minato cuts in. He can notice her surprise from his periphery, but he keeps his eyes trained on the couple she was examining before. “You are not a woman.”

This startles Aigis, who freezes; a pained look slipping into her eyes and then materializing into a paper-thin smile. “Yes, that is—”

“You are just a girl.”

She looks up so fast that one of her neck-joints screeches in protest. If any of the customers sitting around them notices, that Aigis does not know; she can’t tear her widened eyes away from Minato’s face, senses zeroing into his every word.

“You are growing and maturing. And just like us, you still have a long way to go,” he returns her gaze now, holds it there; the ghost of a smile on his lips, warm and playful. “So no, you aren’t a woman. Not yet, at least.”

For a long moment, Aigis seems to be at a loss of words. Then they come pouring out, a desperate stream of fragments of insecurities and fears. “But I—I’m not a normal girl either! _And_ —!”

“What’s so good about being normal, when you can be special?” Minato states simply, not missing a beat. It seems to leave Aigis speechless again and the sight makes his smile widen, his gaze soften. “Aigis… it isn’t our flesh that makes us human. It’s our heart. And you have the biggest heart out of everyone I know. You’re generous, and kind. Always worrying about others more than yourself. _You_ …”

He draws to a halt, suddenly wondering just how much he is allowed to say.

But then Aigis leans closer, seemingly unconsciously; blue eyes trembling with emotion, hands gripping her tea-cup so tightly that it’s a wonder it hasn’t broken just yet. And Minato decides that it doesn't matter; decides that while this may not be the time nor the place, that while he probably should not say so much when he has yet to name the feelings she awakens within him—none of that matters, because Aigis needs to hear it. _Deserves_ to hear it.

And because he wants her to know.

“You’re _beautiful_ , Aigis. Inside and out,” he admits, hoping she will be able to feel his sincerity. “Don’t downplay yourself or the way others feel about you.”

A pretty hue of red takes to her cheeks, her eyes widening in an almost mystified way. But then she casts her gaze down, and Minato doesn't need to read her mind to know she is struggling with herself; undecided as to whether she should accept his words or not.

“Thank you, Minato-san. But I…” she trails off, fiddling with the hem of her cup.

His expression withers ever so slightly, a pang of sympathy pulling at his heart. She needs time, he knows; but it’s still with great effort that he forces himself to not press the issue, holding back a sigh and pushing his chair back.

“Come on, Aigis. Let’s go back to the dorm.”

“Yes, Minato-san.”

They leave the comforting warmth of the Cafe together; yet when they step out into the unwelcoming January cold, Aigis falls a step behind him. Minato looks at her from the corner of his eye; figures that to her, the cold is probably another reminder of the flesh she doesn't possess.

He hesitates for several moments; torn between the knowledge that Aigis’s value is something she has to realize on her own terms, and the yearning to chase that bleak hue from her eyes.

_Aigis… If only you could…_

His fingers are tentative around hers, as though he is afraid she may pull away. When she doesn’t, he gently pulls her forward until they are marching at the same pace.  “Aigis, do you want to take Koromaru out on a walk with me? After dinner." He offers, meeting her astonished stare with an amused one of his own.

It never ceases to amaze him. The way such a vast array of emotions flicker through Aigis’s face one by one, like colors on a canvas, at the smallest of things; how she blinks her disbelief away, eyes softening with such heartfelt contentment that it warms him up to his roots; how her lips part, until there is nothing else left in the road but her and that bright, beautiful smile.

“I would love to,” she says, voice alight with merriment.  

Minato finds himself mirroring her smile, feels lighter than he has in days. “Good.”

He squeezes her hand; she squeezes back. And Minato wonders if she realizes she is the only girl whose hand he doesn't let go of, the only girl that can make him feel this at ease; or if maybe she dismisses it all, assuming he sees anything other than a girl when he gravitates to her side, like a butterfly to milkweed.

It occurs to him then that Aigis wouldn’t be entirely wrong, if she did; though not for the reasons she is bound to expect.

_...I think you’ve probably never been just a girl to me, Aigis._

Not for the first time, Minato wishes Aigis could see herself through his eyes, if only for a moment.

Maybe then she would understand how dear she is to him.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, my apologies for any mistake; English is not my mother-tongue, and I don't have a beta-reader. This was sitting on my drafts and I figured it was time to polish it and let it see the light of the sun. It's shamelessly self-indulgent, but what can I say? These two pull the inner romantic out of me.
> 
> Hopefully the small scenario isn't that hard to picture, despite how talkative Minato gets. Thank you for reading!


End file.
